A known color image forming apparatus, such as a color laser printer, is provided with a photosensitive member cartridge including four photosensitive drums, corona dischargers and cleaning devices, which are disposed around the photosensitive drums. The photosensitive member cartridge is configured to be attached to and removed from a main body of the image forming apparatus.
In the image forming apparatus, the photosensitive member cartridge is provided on its frame with the four photosensitive members and their appendixes, i.e., the corona chargers and cleaning devices while they are relatively positioned. A pair of fixing rollers and a pair of ejecting rollers are mounted on a side plate that can turn concentrically with respect to the center of rotation of the follower roller. The side plate is turned, and the pair of fixing rollers and the pair of ejecting rollers are retracted, thereby defining an opening through which the photosensitive member cartridge is withdrawn out of the system. In the state where the photosensitive member cartridge has been withdrawn from the main body, the photosensitive member cartridge can be detached from the system and replaced by a new photosensitive member cartridge.
In the color image forming apparatus, the photosensitive member cartridge can be temporarily placed on the side plate previously turned when it is withdrawn from the main body. Thus, the user can change his/her grip on the withdrawn photosensitive member cartridge on the side plate and remove the cartridge.
However, for a size reduction of the apparatus, the side plate on which the photosensitive member cartridge is placed may be omitted or may be reduced in strength to such a degree that it cannot support the photosensitive member cartridge. In such configurations, the photosensitive member cartridge needs to be pulled out and immediately removed from the main body. In addition, as it is hard for the user to change his/her grip on the withdrawn photosensitive member cartridge, attaching and removing the photosensitive member cartridge may become difficult.